I'm pretty good at regular exercising. But I have to admit, I can get into ruts. I run because it's easy and convenient and efficient on a busy day. I use the elliptical if I'm near the gym while I'm out. And I love, love, love to swim! But even that is a little routine, focusing on the same muscle groups while ignoring others.

I was reminded the other day of why I might benefit from mixing it up a little bit. inCYSTer Ivonne Ward invited me to join her at a NIA dancing class. (More on NIA in a future post.) I remembered how much I loved dance when I studied it way back in high school, and how much I love to move to music. I also came home well aware of muscles I haven't been using despite my strenuous workouts, and muscles that were tight from being overly focused on. I felt sore, but wonderfully so!

I'm trying something new this year, trying to mix up my exercise so that no two sessions involve the same activity. Trying to mix it up a little bit more so that my fitness is more well-rounded.

Today, the weather is so beautiful, I'm going to get out the Rollerblades and spin around my neighborhood. I love the rhythm of skating, I find it calming and meditative. And I love how the blades use my legs in different ways than does running. And those boots are heavy enough that it's like a ton of weight lifting for the butt muscles--never a bad thing!

I've been communicating with a very nice woman in Santa Monica who is helping me to figure out how I can add tennis lessons to my work trips over there. I've always wanted to learn tennis, so why not this summer when I will surely have time in a place with great weather?

inCYSTer Dr. Gretchen has been talking about her surfing lessons with such enthusiasm that I am going to make time for some of those as well. I will definitely have to get over my shark phobia for this one, but it looks like so much fun!

Both of these activities will challenge my upper body more, which as I get older is definitely something I need to encourage a strong, healthy spine. Plus, I love having new things to learn. My tennis contact shared with me that something she loves about tennis is that every time you play, you're with a different person who challenges you differently, so it's never the same game. I think I'll like that. Sometimes the runs do get a little tedious.

I was also thinking during NIA yesterday that my dance training may come in handy in a sport requiring coordinated footwork, and vice versa. I will be more motivated to swim if I know it will help me to better enjoy my surfing time.

Tennis and surfing require mindfulness as well. Unlike running, and the other activities I do, where you can kind of zone out and be in another world, you have to be mentally PRESENT, aware of your place in space as well as your surroundings, in order to effectively participate.

It's why I hate the question about what the ultimate exercise is. There isn't really ONE, it's what you'll do most regularly. And I think you'll exercise most regularly if you're interested in what you're doing.

Maybe if you're bored with what you're doing, or only exercise for a few weeks before it drops off again, it's because you're not mixing it up enough. Exercise because it gets you away from the computer, stretches your back, allows you to be social, gets you in touch with nature, helps you sleep…and you are guaranteed to strengthen muscles and bones, and maybe lose weight.

Exercise just to lose weight and well…if that's what you've been doing, maybe that's why you've read this blog post all the way to the end.: )

My friend Steven recently returned from a vacation to Australia. He shared this photo of vegemite ice cream! It reminded me that our friends Down Under have a culinary love affair with a food our vegan readers should become better acquainted with. That is, brewer's yeast.

Vegemite (also known as Marmite if it is produced in the UK, New Zealand, or South Africa, and Cenovis if made in Switzerland) is a dark paste made from brewer's yeast leftover after the brewing process. It's most commonly eaten as a spread on bread, as shown in this photo.

Some of the more common descriptions of Vegemite's taste include: salty, bitter, like beef bouillon. One friend described as"Australian miso". It's never really taken off in the United States, but my friends from places where it is common do seem to"Jones" for it when they've gone awhile without a fix.

Nutritionally, Vegemite is an incredible powerhouse! It is very high in thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid, all vitamins which women with PCOS need more of. Kraft, maker of Vegemite, has a website with some interesting recipes for the adventurous reader, including this one for a roast pumpkin and leek risotto. I may have to buy some myself just in the name of trying that one!

One of the things I like about Vegemite is that it is actually made from the leftovers of the beer-making process. In short, leftover yeast cells are processed and combined with salt, celery extract, and onion extract to make the popular black paste. So it's green as well as nutritious, meaning everyone wins!

If you happen to be reading this from Vegemite's home turf, be on the lookout for a new product released just last month. My First Vegemite, actually designed for children, is 50% lower in sodium. It's also fortified with vitamins B6 and B12, which makes it even more attractive to vegans, who have a hard time finding sources of vitamin B12 that are compatible with their food philosophy.

While nutrition purists may insist that Vegemite is too salty, I maintain that in moderation, and used in other recipes, it has its benefits. Amazon.com has not yet picked up this new product but I did find it on eBay.

I'm not an expert on this food, but I'm told Vegemite's cousin Marmite, which is actually available at the local Fresh and Easy, is milder in flavor and also contains vitamin B12 which the original Vegemite does not. That IS available on amazon.com if you're not close to Australia, Fresh and Easy, or other store catering to expat Aussies.

I'm still wrapping my head around vegemite ice cream…though my adventures with jalapeno beer (local), reindeer sausage (on a trip to Alaska), and elk steak (on a ski trip to Steamboat Springs) were far from disappointing. Hmmmm…may I'll have to scheme a business trip to Australia and do some in-depth journalism…

To our many Aussie readers, thank you for your visits! I see you on our stats and I appreciate your visits. I've actually been timing new posts to show in concert with YOUR early evenings, not ours. I hope you find us helpful, mates…be sure to ask questions when you have them! And if you have ideas for how to use your food that we newbies might appreciate, please share!

To our vegan readers, stay tuned. More on brewer's yeast tomorrow. You REALLY need to become friendly with this nutritional gem.

Something I love, love, love about my work is that there is always something new to learn. Recently my work with Chow Locally has taught me a lot about why people don't have a user-friendly relationship with vegetables. It's probably because most of the vegetables they have been exposed to are bland and boring.

We are so lucky to be able to work with farmers who bring us great things like Romanesco, purple carrots, watermelon radishes…things that are just so attractive and interesting you can't help but want to taste them! Plus, even when what we have is more recognizable and traditional, it's so fresh, pulled out of the ground just a day or two before we get it, that it's bursting with flavor. I have found myself, several times, in the traditional grocery store getting ingredients to cook with my vegetables, walking through the produce section, thinking to myself…"That's all they have?"

Recently, without even being asked, one of our customers' daughters told us just how much she loves her veggies.

Yes, she loves carrots more than chocolate! And I promise we didn't somehow sneak chocolate into those carrots…it's just that they are that good when they're fresh out of the ground.

Over the weekend, one of our co-founders, Derek Slife, was invited to showcase our vegetables on the local edition of the Today Show. I watch lots of food demos, but it's not often that you see the hosts of the show hover over the chef like Joe and Rob did with Derek! They were so fascinated with the watermelon radishes they couldn't wait to try them. What the spot doesn't show is that Joe so eagerly dug into one of the carrots he bit into it on air without thinking to wash the dirt off…and you know how that ended.

These experiences, and the many notes we are receiving from happy parents telling us their kids are eating foods they never, ever ate before have completely convinced me, the problem with vegetables is not that they don't taste good, but the way we manage them from farm to table often strips them of their flavor.

If you have a farmer's market or CSA near you, I encourage you to try eating THOSE vegetables. It is a whole different experience than you've ever had. You just might find a new addiction!

I have a new favorite recipe that I thought you would like! If you use the anchovy paste, you'll get additional omega-3's; if you're vegan it's fine to use soy sauce. I use lite soy sauce to cut the sodium content. I have also cut the oil in half from the original recipe; feel free to add more if you need it. Just remember that it is the fat in the Caesar that can throw the calories out of whack.

Add chicken or salmon…or even canned tuna…for protein…and you've got a tasty, hormone-friendly meal!

Kale and Romaine Caesar Salad

Ingredients

- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 T anchovy paste from a tube (or substitute soy sauce)
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 3 T olive oil
- 2 T + 2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 4-5 oz. romaine lettuce, thinly sliced, washed and dried
- 4-5 oz. dark green kale, washed, dried, and thinly sliced

Preparation

Blend the lemon juice, anchovy paste (or soy sauce), garlic, and Dijon in a food processor and pulse together a few times. Add the olive oil one tablespoon at a time, pulsing for a few seconds after each tablespoon is added. Stir in 2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan and season the dressing with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Put dressing in the fridge and chill until ready to use, or if you want to make the salad right away, chill it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so.
Thinly slice romaine lettuce and kale into 1/2 inch strips. Wash, then spin dry or dry with paper towels.

Place the kale strips in a salad bowl, and pour in salad dressing. Massage dressing into kale with your hands until the leaves change color. Add romaine and toss to coat with dressing. Add the remaining 2 T of freshly grated Parmesan to the salad and toss again. Serve right away.

Not long ago I created a webinar about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. I found a great graphic that explains something most people have not considered when it comes to reproductive hormone health. Many of the hormones that we need for proper function of our reproductive systems (whether we're trying to conceive or slow down aging), are made out of cholesterol. Just look at this picture below!

As you can see, we need a decent supply of cholesterol in the body in order to even make progesterone and estrogen! However, we've become very obsessed with the idea that cholesterol is a"bad" thing. So much so that in 2001 the National Cholesterol Education Program lowered the level of ideal cholesterol so much that the number of people who ideally should be on cholesterol-lowering medications…tripled.
This may be more pertinent to women with PCOS, approaching menopause, who are more likely to be placed on statin medications than younger women who are trying to conceive.
However, I just wonder, a lot, if it's not really a coincidence that as we focus on cholesterol and getting it out of our bodies, we also seem to be developing more problems related to hormone imbalances…infertility, early menopause, even Alzheimer's, which is starting to be recognized as a consequence of insulin resistance, which is associated with PCOS.
Bottom line: Eat well, and be careful of obnoxiously high cholesterol levels, but try to avoid an obsession with a"lower is better" mentality. Cholesterol is an essential compound, and not to be feared.

Long ago, I had a client who needed me to help her stay on course in the grocery store. Most of the time she did well, but one day, as we were wrapping up the trip, she accidentally zeroed out her calculator (which was her indicator she was staying within budget), just as she had three items left to put in her cart. The next series of behaviors humbled me as her dietitian, because I saw just how useless it is for anyone helping someone with an eating disorder to assume that there is any kind of logical/rational thinking when a person encounters a stress.

My client broke out into a profuse sweat. She removed all of the planned menu items from her shopping list and proceeded to the frozen food section, where she loaded up on ice cream, pizza, chicken wings, you name it. She was in such a zone that I couldn't get her attention.

I learned from this, that waiting until you're stressed out, to implement stress management behaviors, doesn't work. By that time, too many hormones and too much momentum are headed in the wrong direction for there to be much of a chance to think your way out of the problem. The same thing happens with anxiety and sleep medications. If you're taking them on an"as needed" basis, by the time you realize you need them, you've got far more momentum to overcome than you would if you implemented proactive stress management behaviors.

One of my favorite proactive remedies is lavender. It's an herb whose essential oil has repeatedly been observed to have powerful anti-anxiety, antidepressive, sleep-enhancing qualities. I was reminded of lavender this morning when I ran across a new study suggesting that lavender essential oil has the potential to be as potent as lorazepam (Ativan) for anxiety management, without thhe addictive potential. The beauty of this essential oil is that you can apply it throughout the day on your wrists, helping to keep anxiety at bay before it becomes overwhelming. Lavender sprays and pot pourris can be helpful as well. Of course, they will be more useful when used regularly and proactively than if you wait until you're completely freaked out (when you may not remember to use it, anyway).

Lavender is also an herb that can be used in cooking! Here's a link with some interesting recipes, including lavender scrambled eggs and lavender oatmeal.

I think Mother Nature is the most incredible pharmacist. I hope this is an option with potential for at least some of you with anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders that intensify your PCOS.

Kritsidima M, Newton T, Asimakopoulou K. The effects of lavender scent on dental patient anxiety levels: a cluster randomised-controlled trial. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2010 Feb;38(1):83-7. Epub 2009 Nov 23.

Woelk H, Schläfke S. A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder. Phytomedicine. 2010 Feb;17(2):94-9. Epub 2009 Dec 3.

Setzer WN. Essential oils and anxiolytic aromatherapy. Nat Prod Commun. 2009 Sep;4(9):1305-16.

I've been chatting with several of our network members the last few weeks about some really fun things they've been doing in the activity department. I'm hoping talking about my own activity this past week will encourage them to get something posted! (You guys know who you are…)

My car needed a major repair that resulted in my being without (gasoline-powered) transportation for a couple of days. And, the garage that did the work was about 10 miles away. I could have used the bus, and actually did for a major trip, but since the weather was so nice, I thought I would get out and enjoy it.

So…when I took the car to the garage, I packed my rollerblades and skated home. I checked out the route, and it turned out, the garage was just a couple blocks away from my favorite greenbelt; therefore, half of my trip was already familiar. Just a few different turns toward home, and voila! I had my workout in.

I used to cross country ski a lot when I lived in Colorado, and picked up rollerblading when I moved to California and didn't have such great access to snow. It is so fun! I actually had to check my heart rate when I first started because I didn't believe it was actually going anywhere.

Something I really love about rollerblading is the workout it gives my backside. Everytime you push off and lift your boot, it's like lifting a weight. One of those weights that really isn't fun to do in the gym, but you don't notice when you're skating.

I also love the meditative rhythm rollerblading creates. There is something about the back and forth repetition that calms the chaos in my head and allows my more creative thinking to predominate.

By the time I got home…I had a bunch of new ideas for my work, I was relaxed, and later on that night I fell right asleep.

I'm looking forward to what other network members share. It's not about how often you are in the gym, really, it's how much you move your body in general. They've got some great ideas!

Hello readers,

I had a lot of notes from readers saying they were going to be registering for this event. However, only one of you has followed through.

It's a big trip from Phoenix to Virginia, and I am not in a position to do it without my costs being recovered. I know memory, procrastination, and motivation are big issues with PCOS, we fight it daily with every outreach we try. You know, as well as we do, lack of planning is what gets in the way of your success with food. Please don't let that happen with this workshop. We thought no one was going to come to New Hampshire so we rescheduled it, only to have a flurry of last minute registrants express disappointment that they had acted too late.

So it is important for you to act, now, and indicate your intent to attend. We came as far as we could on YOUR behalf, now it's time for you to take advantage!

This is not a trip I am likely to replicate, so if you had your heart set on learning our approach to PCOS, this is the event you must prioritize for yourself.

Here is the registration link.
http://yhst-34497545168533.stores.yahoo.net/pcos-with-monika-m-woolsey-ms-rd-norfolk-virginia-041611.html

I am considering hosting a fundraiser for the new PCOS research foundation in Los Angeles. I was thinking of being over there on Saturday, May 14, and conducting a day's worth of counseling appointments, with all of the proceeds being used to cover the startup costs for this organization.

Since I would be traveling over from Phoenix and absorbing the cost of that travel, I would need your commitment to participate to be made by giving me a credit card number that would be charged whether or not you attend your scheduled appointment. Either way, your payment would be considered a charitable donation.

If you are interested, please contact me privately at marika@google.com so I can ascertain if enough interest exists to start to plan the trip.

If you are NOT from Los Angeles and would be interested in a similar fundraising day conducted over the phone, please let me know, I'll do that as well if there is sufficient interest!
Thank you!

No trip to Los Angeles is complete without a cruise through the Venice Whole Foods to check out what's new, interesting, trendy, and likely to eventually wave across the country. So when my friend Jacque and I had a break between sales calls in Hollywood and Marina del Rey, I directed her to drive us to my favorite trend-shopping and people watching venue.

I was immediately drawn to a pile of pretty funky reptilian looking avocado-like somethings labeled as cherimoyas. I'd heard of these fruits, which rarely make it to Arizona because of their short shelf life. I talked Jacque into agreeing to share one with me. She was understandably reluctant, given its homely appearance, but she acquiesced.

That cherimoya made it all the way back to Arizona without being touched. It sat on my table for 4 days, being contemplated. Even though everything I'd Googled about told me it would be wonderful, I just could not wrap my brain around the possibility that something looking like THIS would taste so beautiful!

I finally sliced it open and had it for breakfast today. And I regretted, totally regretted, having spent the first half of my life without ever having one of these amazing fruits. Its flesh is soft, best eaten scooped out with a spoon. And its flavor…well…imagine every single tropical fruit you've ever eaten, all packed into one bite. Yup, that is a cherimoya. Simply amazing. Mother Nature was in a super good mood that day she was in South America creating the cherimoya.

Nutritionally, one fruit has about 230 calories…and 5 grams of protein! It is very low glycemic, as well.

So if you are anywhere, anywhere at all, between March and May when these delicious fruits are in season, I strongly advise you, to run as fast as you can to the store, put a few in your grocery cart, and bring them home to enjoy.

Don't waste as much time as I did!

What a find! I have a thing for thrift stores, dollar stores, etc., and on a recent cruise through the local 99 Cent Store, I found these salmon cups. They're perfectly portable to work, the gym, on a business trip…and they're cheap and yummy!

I happened to try the salmon/mandarin orange variety, but as you can see by the photo, there are also tuna varieties including cajun and teriyaki.

One of my biggest mantras when teaching healthy eating is to break your rules--about what defines breakfast, snacks, etc. You can eat"lunch" food for a snack, and"dinner" food at breakfast, if that suits you better. (I happen to love leftover Chinese food for breakfast!)

Besides the point that this is a wonderful option for a meal you need to pack, I also wanted to reinforce that better food choices do not have to be expensive. Check out your own 99 Cent Store and see what great bargains can get you started on your own journey of better eating.

Yup, you heard it here.
Nope, I’m not telling you to ditch the exercise.
I’m encouraging you to be sure you’re balancing exercise with rest, and not overtraining.
If you’re trying to lose weight, your focus is likely on losing fat. That’s a nice goal, and I’m guessing you’ll feel better about what you see when you look in the mirror if that results from your exercise, but it’s not really the main reason you’re exercising for PCOS.
You need to gain muscle. The more muscle mass you have, the harder it is to be insulin resistant. The act of exercise actually breaks muscle down. It rebuilds during periods of rest. It’s the balance of exercise and rest that matters, way more, than how many hours of exercise you’re actually doing.
It can be a vicious cycle to break out of, because insulin resistance itself actually breaks down muscle. So if it’s been awhile since you’ve actively exercised, and you’re not losing weight the way you’d hoped you would when you committed to the gym, consider that your ratio of muscle to fat is not high enough. Your priority, first and foremost, is to build and maintain that muscle.
Focusing too much on losing fat and overtraining in the process… will undermine your progress.
Exercising too late in the evening, getting up too early in the morning to get to the gym (it’s not uncommon to hear women say they’re up at 3 am to fit in the workout), or simply working out so much and so hard that you’re not sleeping well… are all easy ways to sabotage your success.
Things you need to keep in mind:
You need to eat enough protein so that your body builds muscle mass while you're not active.
2. You need to sleep enough so that you don’t promote insulin resistance.
3. You need to not push yourself so hard that you’ve stopped burning fat—monitor your heart rate!
4. You need to vary the workouts so all muscle groups are involved and have a chance to build up. Also, you need to develop the confidence to trust that PROACTIVE exercising, as opposed to REACTIVE exercising, is your path to success. Too often women with PCOS weigh themselves in the morning and if the weight is not what they want to see, react by doubling, even tripling their scheduled workout time in order to “get control” of the situation.
When you’re exercising with the goal of building muscles to reduce insulin resistance, you understand that overtraining is your enemy. You create an exercise plan that perhaps you even map out on your calendar, that you commit to regardless of how you’re feeling or what the scales says. For example, I just mapped out my spring training schedule. One of my friends and I have decided we’re going to take tennis lessons. We both own businesses, and committing to this ensure that we actually get out and move. I also love to swim, and it’s one way I can stay active as the weather in Arizona gets warm. And, I’ve been wanting to bump up my elliptical workouts and try spin classes. So, for the next three months, on my calendar, every fourth day, I’ve written “tennis”, every fourth day “spin”, every fourth day “swim”… and then I schedule a day off. It’s right there in my planner so when I start scheduling meetings and accepting social invitations, I only schedule in a way that does not take away from that commitment to myself. I varied the exercise to give my different muscle groups a rest, and to give me enough variety to not get bored.
And don’t get me wrong… I do relish the day off! We all need a little bit of laziness, sleeping in, and getting caught up. I find, personally, if I don’t have the day off, I have trouble sleeping and I have trouble keeping up with the appetite. I have designed this program to fit with the way I’ve learned my body works. If I like spin, I’ll keep it, or I may prioritize swimming during the heat of the summer. We’ll see. I kind of need to mix it up over time to stay interested.
The point of this post is, the reactive and self-punitive approach many of you have toward exercise, because of your focus on reducing body fat, is your absolute biggest enemy. Focus on building muscle, even though it may mean seeing your weight increase on occasion. It’s reflecting muscle, not fat, and it’s a good sign.
Muscle, muscle, muscle!

If you enjoyed Lucy Bustamante's story last week on WVEC, here is your opportunity to learn more!

By coincidence I happened to be planning a trip to the area before Lucy even contacted me, and I decided to extend that trip so that I can meet with women who are interested in learning about the inCYST approach to PCOS.

I will be there on Saturday, April 16, 2011, and my event will run from 9 am to 1 pm. Cost is $50 and it includes a copy of the new e-book,"The Quick Start Guide to PCOS" by inCYST member Christine Marquette, RD, LD, CLT.

This event is targeted at women with PCOS, but if you are a professional you can apply this registration toward the 2011 inCYST Professional Training course and join our network.

Click here for registration information.

A new study with special pertinence to women with PCOS that jumped off of my computer screen, despite having received little attention on Twitter and the general media.

Researchers evaluated a total of 41,902 women divided into three successive five-year periods. What they found was that in women who were diabetic before conceiving, the incidence of birth defects in their babies increased. In the time that these women were pregnant, the rate of pre-gestational diabetes tripled, from 1% to 3%. The risk of birth defects potentially attributed to pre-gestational diabetes jumped during the time of the study, from 3.3% to 9.2%.

Let's do some math. In 2007, 4,317,119 babies were born in the United States. 129,513 of those babies were born to mothers who were diabetic prior to conception. 11,915 of those babies were born with birth defects potentially related to the mother's diabetes.

At inCYST, we don't just want you to get pregnant. We want you to have the healthiest baby possible, and for you to live the fullest life possible, for as long as possible, so that you can enjoy the baby you worked to have.

Please, if you're desiring to become pregnant, and you're diabetic, consider working with a PCOS-trained dietitian to reduce the health risks for both of you involved in this journey. Our list to the right of this blog is a great place to get started finding just such a trained professional.

Biggio JR Jr, Chapman V, Neely C, Cliver SP, Rouse DJ. Fetal anomalies in obese women: the contribution of diabetes. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Feb;115(2 Pt 1):290-6.

This is actually a post from Ellen Goldfarb, who you can hear on Internet radio tomorrow (see previous post). I am pasting her link on my blog roll for anyone who wishes to continue to follow her. She'll be here…and there!

So, I got married at a later age than most, 38 and knew that I wanted to have a family and so did my husband. We succesfully got pregnant on our own a year and a half after we got married however, sadly this ended in a miscarriage in the 10th week, when I went to the doctor there was no heartbeat. I had no idea. It was what they call a missed AB and so I had to get a DNC procedure. They asked if I wanted to have the tissue examined by a lab to see what had gone wrong, I told them yes. The determined that the cause of the miscarriage was due to a chromosome issue and they said most likely had to do with my age.
My husband and I were devastated! were we too late, he was 44 and I almost 40 and we had no children yet! what were our options?
We then spent and enormous amount of money doing IVF, we did one round in which we made 3 healthy embroyos and inserted them but …alas… nothing!
what were we to do?
I then started to think about adoption, but in the meantime, in the back of my mind I thought to myself, there must be something else I can do
Being a Dietitian, I started to research more about hormones, fertility and nutrition
I began to find an number of correlations between certain dietary patterns, sleep and exercise and fertility
I began to make changed in all of these areas and encouraged myhusband to do the same
We then took a trip to Hawaii and relaxed to get our minds off things
Right before I was to begin another round of fertility injections, we found out that I was pregnant(on my own) and we immediately stopped the injections
Now I am a nervous wreck again thinking something bad was going to happen and the first trimester was hell just waiting it out, but fortunately everything went fine, we had a CVS done and they said we were going to have a healthy baby girl!
I have birth to Arianna Belle on Sept 19th 2006, 4 months later, I was naturally pregnant again with my second healthy daugher Lauren Ivy who was born on October 10th 2007
These pregancies were both concieved naturally and both children are very healthy and doing great!
I really believe that if you make lifestyle changes, it can really effect your body and outcome
I now have expanded my private practice to support and help women who struggle with infertility and PCOS in addition to my specialty of treating Eating Disorders
My goal is to get as many women pregnant as I can with good nutrition and healthy lifetstyle practices
for more information about me, contact my website at www.ellenreissgoldfarb.com
I would love to hear from you:)

Way back when I first started studying omega-3 chemistry, I put together a list of DHA contents of a variety of seafoods. I was recently asked for a copy of that list, and since the list was not complete the first time I did it, I decided to update it.

I noticed when looking at the latest list that there were two significant changes: Over half of the seafood given the"green light" are farmed. Meaning we need to be more open to eating farmed fish and better manage our ocean farming habits. Secondly, as a consumer it is also important to know what fishing method was used. Some are sustainable, some are not.

The list below is based off of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, most recently updated January 11. As much as I advocate for all of you to eat more fish, I want to be sure that I do my part to encourage responsible use of the ocean's resources. So the only options included on this list are the"green light", or most sustainable options. If you don't see it there, it didn't get a green light. The (F) in front of an item denotes"farmed".

I'll update this from time to time so you all can keep current. I used the national list, but you can also find more specific regional lists at the same website. The downloadable wallet cards or iPhone application are great to keep with you so that you can always make better choices when you're grocery shopping or eating out.

Bottom line, any seafood has omega-3's. Even if they're not as high as what is found in salmon, every time you eat fish, you're not eating a meat higher in saturated fat. There's a"double whammy" benefit over and above that simple DHA.

Hope this inspires you to think when buying or ordering your seafood!

Milligrams of EPA/DHA/total omega-3 per 100 gram (3.5 cooked ounces)

(F) artic char 600/500/1100
(F) US barramundi 900/600/1500
(F) US catfish 200/200/400
(F) clams 100/100/200
(F) US cobia 383/418/801
(F) Pacific cod, bottom longline fished 100/100/200
Dungeness/stone crab 100/200/300
Pacific US halibut 300/100/400
Pacific US spiny lobster 100/100/200
(F) mussels 300/200/500
(F) oysters 200/400/600
Alaska sablefish/black cod 100/100/200
Alaskan salmon 575/500/1075
(F) off-bottom scallops 100/100/200
Pink shrimp 100/200/300
(F) striped bass 600/200/800
*striped bass 200/600/800
(F) US tilapia 130/50/180
(F) US rainbow trout 400/100/500
US/British Columbia albacore tuna (canned white) 100/300/400
Skipjack tuna (canned light) 300/100/400

One of my friends travels to Albuquerque frequently on business. I just emailed him to tell him to look for mole sauce on his current trip. And then I got to thinking, with Valentine's Day just around the corner, it would be a unique and healthy way for this blog's readers to dish up some chocolate!

Mole sauce is a Mexican sauce derived from cocoa powder. There are many different varieties, but some of the more common varities also include cinnamon, chile peppers, and nuts. Not long ago a local chef did a demonstration at our local botanical garden. Her version had about 14 different herbs and spices! This sauce is great on most meats, but I like it best on chicken.

Chocolate actually may have some heart-healthy benefits; researchers have said that an ounce of dark chocolate is as good as a baby aspirin for heart health! And cinnamon is gaining recognition for its effect on improving insulin function.

If you Google"mole sauce", you'll find plenty of recipes to try. Make this the week you treat your sweetie, as well as your heart.

If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? This post is about following the unknown path, the one that’s scary, mysterious, and potentially full of rewards as well as challenges. There are many gifts, trip-ups, and payoffs to pursue the uncommon option.

There are many known paths – you go to school for a certain amount of time, complete a certain amount of units, and you get a bachelor’s degree. You pass a test, and you get a driver’s license. You say “yes” to the proposal, and you end up getting married. You sign up for a trip, pay your fees, and off you go to Italy. Those things are relatively predictable. There’s a prescribed series of steps, and a pre-ordained outcome.

But what about the rest of it – the pursuit of peace, freedom, wealth, happiness and health? There are a lot of courses that seem predictable that turn out to be not so predictable. You go to graduate school and get a Ph.D. and discover you still can’t get a job. You have unprotected sex for a year, and you’re still not pregnant. You start a surefire business and the concept goes out of fashion before you’re even open. You take all of the prescribed medications, and still your diabetes gets so bad you have to take insulin. You buy a quiet little house in a quirky neighborhood, and discover that it’s not so quiet after all. Then what do you do?

Instead of freaking out and stopping dead in your tracks, I propose that you pause, examine the trip-ups, and then look at the gifts and pay-offs of the experience, and re-orient yourself along a new path. Maybe in retrospect you realize that you didn’t plan adequately, your market research was incorrect, or you were unrealistic about your physical condition and the impact of your chronic disease. These realizations are lessons in how to better prepare yourself for success when you make your next moves.

Take some time to consider the pay-offs of what you’ve done so far, even though, ultimately, you didn’t get the result you were looking for. Maybe you’ve got an education that serves well as background for another profession, you learned a whole lot more about how real estate or entrepreneurship works, or you have gathered information that’s useful to your doctor in helping you chart the best course of action. Maybe you gained new friends who love and support you, or you learned that you really hate being in charge or meeting daily deadlines. Those weren’t the original goals of your project or pursuit, but they’re gifts (pay-offs) nonetheless. Time spent going down “the wrong path” is not necessarily wasted, unless you fail to extract the lessons of your experiences.

The other thing that often ends up feeling like failure is taking the failed outcome and treating it as if it’s a dead-end, instead of a turning off point for the next experience, choice, or path. By continuously reevaluating your choices and experiences, and treating them as valuable information sources, rather than failures, you’ll be able to move forward with more ease, feeling enriched by your experiences, rather than robbed of time or resources.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

If you have PCOS, it's likely you've been told that your risk of diabetes is increased. And that means it's likely this news headline caught your eye.

Here is the reference to the article that the story was based on, if you want to track it down online or in your local library.

Dixon JB, O'Brien PE, Playfair J, Chapman L, Schachter LM, Skinner S, Proietto J, Bailey M, Anderson M. Adjustable gastric banding and conventional therapy for type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial.
JAMA. 2008 Jan 23;299(3):316-23. Comment in: JAMA. 2008 Jan 23;299(3):341-3.

Wouldn't it be great if this claim were true? There are some important caveats to consider before getting in line at your nearest bariatric clinic.

1. The authors of the original study used the word"remission", not"cure", to describe what they observed. Even in cancer treatment, there is a 5 year waiting period a patient must pass before being told they are free and clear of the disease. Somewhere in the trip from the research lab to the news desk a huge leap in logic occurred. Of course,"cure" attracts more viewers--and advertising dollars--than"remission"--but just beware that just as reporters can change their own appearance to look better on camera, so can tweaking a few words increase the potential attractiveness of a story, even one with some originally valid scientific basis.

2. Diabetes can often take years to develop. If there was indeed a high incidence of remission, it is possible that it might take longer than 2 years for patients to start to have signs and symptoms of the disease again.

3. Patients who underwent surgery also lost weight. So who's to say which was the bigger influence? And it took two years for remission to develop. If surgery really was the only influence, not the dietary change or change in body composition, it would likely have occurred much more rapidly.

4. Having surgery is not a license to eat what you want. Especially with bariatric surgery. I participate in a discussion group with dietitians who specialize in bariatric surgery treatment and it is clear, this is a serious, drastic move, requiring serious commitment to change. It is absolutely not risk free.

Your choice is your choice. But just be absolutely sure, before you opt for this solution, that you get all of the facts. And that when you have the facts you understand what they are really saying, not hearing what you'd like them to mean.

Note: I've received quite a few compliments about this blog post. It was written and published without a single edit by Sarah Jones. Sarah is currently a nutrition student and Arizona State University and has been interning with me over this academic year. The attention to detail you see here is just how Sarah does things. I'm very lucky to have her, and glad she has shared such a timely topic in such a wonderful post. Thanks, Sarah!

You may have noticed that vitamin D has been a hot topic in the media lately and, at this point, it is likely that we as consumers are becoming overwhelmed by all the media hype. Recent studies have suggested that in prehistoric times, in addition to normal skeletal development, humans probably used vitamin D as a natural form of sunscreen. Before majoring in Dietetics, my basic knowledge of the role vitamin D played in the body is that it somehow worked with calcium to promote healthy bones. As it turns out, I had no idea how complex the relationship actually was between vitamin D and the human body! Let’s take a further look at vitamin D. Most of us may know vitamin D as the “sunshine vitamin.” We get it from the sun, right? Sure, but how? When ultraviolet light from the sun shines on a cholesterol compound in our skin, it is transformed into a vitamin D “precursor” (compounds that can be converted into active vitamins that the body can use) and is absorbed directly into the blood. The liver and kidneys finish converting the precursor to the active form of vitamin D. There are two major forms of vitamin D; these are vitamin D₂ (ergocalciferol), which is present in plants, and vitamin D₃ (cholecalciferol), which is present in the skin of animals. Vitamin D was discovered in 1920 and was originally classified as a vitamin. However, it has since been revealed that vitamin D is actually a hormone (steroid) since it can be synthesized by the body when exposed to sunlight. Essentially, the major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus in our bodies, which aids in the absorption of calcium and helps to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D₃ is the most active form of the vitamin, which is what you will see in most supplements. Obtaining vitamin D from sunlight presents no risk of vitamin D toxicity because the body is able to regulate the vitamin D precursor – see what I mean about complex! But, as we know, getting too much sun puts us at risk for skin cancer. Since moving to Arizona, I have started wearing sunscreen everyday to decrease my risk of skin cancer, but sunscreen can reduce or prevent the synthesis of vitamin D. And, because vitamin D is one of the most toxic of all the vitamins, taking supplements can put us at risk for toxicity. Now you may be thinking, I wear sunscreen, I am concerned about supplementing without first consulting my doctor, and I live in an area that does not get much sunlight during this time of year, what foods can I eat that have vitamin D in them? As far as foods are concerned, dietary vitamin D is provided primarily by foods of animal origin, especially liver, beef and eggs (mainly the yolk). You can also find vitamin D in dairy products such as milk, cheese and butter. Lastly, vitamin D is in some saltwater fish, including tuna, salmon, herring and sardines. Because few foods naturally have substantial vitamin D content, i n the United States there are pre-selected foods, such as milk, cheese, margarine and yogurt as well as some orange juice, bread, and cereals that have been fortified with vitamin D. If you are a vegetarian, you likely will not be obtaining vitamin D by eating liver, beef or fish, but you may still be eating eggs and dairy products. I mentioned yogurt as a source of vitamin D, but after a trip to the grocery store and looking at no less than ten brands of yogurt, I was stumped! I was hard pressed to find yogurts that have been fortified with vitamin D. However, it was not a complete loss, as I eventually spotted one (which also happens to be one of my favorite brands). Stonyfield Organic Yogurt has fortified most of their yogurt products with vitamin D₃. Here is a list from their labels of the “percent of daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet”: Organic Fat Free Smooth and Creamy 6 oz (all flavors): 20% of D₃ Organic Fat Free Fruit on the Bottom 6 oz (all flavors): 15% of D₃ Organic Low Fat Smooth and Creamy 6 oz (all flavors): 20% of D₃ Organic Low Fat Fruit on the Bottom 6 oz (all flavors): 15% of D₃ Their soy and Greek yogurt’s do not have vitamin D, but they also make six and ten ounce organic smoothies that contain vitamin D. Additionally, they have two other products that are worth mentioning: “B-Healthy and B-Well.” B-Healthy includes omega-3 fatty acids, as well as three of the B vitamins ( B₃ or Niacin, B₅ or Panthothenic Acid and B12). B-Well contains vitamin B₆, probiotic cultures and vitamin D. According to their website, if you live in the Phoenix area, Stonyfield Organic Yogurt can be found at: Bashas’, AJ’s Fine Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market.

References